Home » Solitaire Golf » Who wrote the work The Queen of Spades. Queen of Spades

Who wrote the work The Queen of Spades. Queen of Spades

One fine day, a card game takes place at Narumov’s place. After the game has been played, Tomsky tells the story of his grandmother, it talks about the riddle of three cards. It was opened by the well-known Saint-Germain. The riddle says that it is necessary to place three identical bets on specific map. After speculating a little about this story, everyone disperses.

Herman and everyone else did not attach any importance to this story, as they considered it implausible. The young officer Herman did not play, but he diligently watched what was happening on the table. Mr. Tomsky's grandmother is in the restroom, surrounded by servants. A student sits not far from her, embroidering something. Tomsky comes into the room and begins to talk with the Countess. After talking a little, he leaves.

Elizaveta, her grandmother’s pupil, looks through the window at the departing officer. The Countess catches Lisa before this action and gives her incomprehensible orders, but despite the fact that the pupil did not understand anything, she has to pretend that she went to carry them out. The Countess makes Elizabeth's life completely unbearable. She constantly finds fault, and Lisa really wants to get rid of her as quickly as possible. For this reason, the handsome young officer Herman interested her very much.

Herman is a very handsome, strong young man, he combines strong principles and an amazing imagination. Herman was interested in the story and wanted to understand it. This riddle could not let the officer go, and he unwittingly came to Tomsky’s grandmother’s house. German accidentally notices Elizaveta Ivanovna’s gaze on himself. Little by little, the young officer begins to care for the countess’s pupil, although he does this solely to penetrate the house. Herman quietly gives a love letter in which he confesses his love. Elizabeth gives the answer. In the next message he asks for a date. He tactfully pursues Lizonka, and soon she agrees to a date, at the moment when the countess is about to leave for the ball. Elizabeth tells how Herman can get into the house. The Countess leaves, and the officer secretly makes his way into the house and office of Tomsky’s grandmother.

When the Countess returns from the ball, Herman goes into her room and begins to beg her to solve the riddle. As a result, he pulls out a gun, and the elderly woman’s heart gives out and she falls dead. At the same time, Lisa returns from the ball, she is a little worried about meeting the officer, and is even glad when she does not see him in her bedroom. But a little later Herman comes into the room and says that the Countess has died. Elizabeth realizes that she is not the young officer's target and admits her unwitting guilt in her death.

By morning the officer leaves the house, coming only for the funeral service of the mistress of the house. Herman noticed a strange grin on the deceased’s face. He drinks himself into unconsciousness and falls asleep until the morning. At night, his deceased mistress comes to him. She shares with him the riddle of these cards, which say that you need to put three, seven and ace in a row. The only condition for revealing the secret is a wedding with Elizaveta Ivanovna.

These cards haunt the officer. The young man cannot cope with the temptation, and begins to play card games with the well-known Chekalinsky, making a huge bet on the three card. Herman won. The next day he decides to bet on card seven, and wins again. And again he is at the table, now he wants to bet on last card, but the queen of spades appears in his hands. This card strongly resembles the Countess. The officer loses his mind, and Elizabeth, the countess's pupil, gets married.

Pushkin’s work “The Queen of Spades” came from the pen of the great poet in 1833. The basis for it was the mysterious drawing-room legend known in the world about the sudden and stunning luck at cards of Princess Natalya Golitsyna. The story is complete, resembles a fascinating story and is readable “the first time.”

Pushkin begins the plot with the usual story for the assembled card company (narrated by the landowner Tomsky). “The Queen of Spades”, with its content, introduces us to the hussars of the 18th century. The grandmother of the narrator, Count Tomsky, Anna Fedotovna, in her young years lost every penny to the Count of Orleans. Having not received funds from her indignant husband, she, with help from the famous occultist and alchemist Count Saint-Germain (from whom she then asked for money), learned the secret of the three cards. At the same time, the mysterious Frenchman stipulated that the countess would play only one game. Anna Fedotovna Tomskaya then recouped and left for Northern Palmyra. Never again did she sit down at the gaming table. Only once did she reveal the secret to Mr. Chaplitsky, having previously secured from him a promise similar to her own. He did not keep his word, winning once, did not stop on time and then, having lost millions, died in poverty. Agree, dear readers, Pushkin masterfully wove the intrigue of his story. “The Queen of Spades” is a fascinating and dynamic work.

The story was not left hanging in the air. He was heard by the young engineer Hermann, consumed by passions and ambition. He does not play because his fortune is modest and he has no other income other than his salary. The passion for the game, suppressed by a strong will, makes him greedily catch every nuance of it. Hearing the story of Count Tomsky shocked the young engineer, and the thirst for quick enrichment took possession of him.

Pushkin describes the way of life of the count's house in the next chapter. “The Queen of Spades” introduces us to Countess Tomskaya, who lives secluded on the estate, mindlessly observes the palace etiquette of the 17th century, and manically takes care of her decoration and appearance. Her petty quibbles are endless. With this manner, the landowner harasses and annoys everyone around her, and especially her young pupil Elizabeth. Hot and ardent Hermann charms Lizonka, writes notes to her and achieves a secret meeting in the count's house. Meeting young people is the topic of the third chapter. The teacher tells him in detail the layout of the rooms. But at the appointed hour, Hermann goes not to the girl, but to her mistress. He sees the lady sitting insomnia by the window. The young man asks and then demands from Countess Tomskaya to reveal the coveted secret, but she stubbornly remains silent. When the engineer starts making threats, pulling out a pistol, the landowner has a heart attack, and she dies.

The fourth chapter is psychological, moral. Hermann goes up to his pupil and tells her about the misfortune. Elizabeth is shocked by his selfishness. However, neither the tears of the girl in love nor her feelings touch the greedy young man.

In the fifth chapter, Pushkin shows his talent as a mystical writer. At the funeral service for the Countess, Hermann imagines a mocking glance and a wink from the deceased. The next night he was awakened by an unfamiliar noise, then the ghost of Anna Fedotovna floated into the room and announced to him a secret combination of cards - three, seven, ace. The vision ended his speech by forgiving Hermann and asking him to play only once and stop there, and then marry Elizabeth. Pushkin created such a culmination of the plot. “Queen of Spades” enhances the dynamics of its line.

The ideal situation for enriching play soon arises. Rich players flock to Moscow. On the first day, Hermann doubles his fortune, putting it all at three, but does not stop there. Luck is favorable to him on the second day - seven also brings good luck, he becomes rich. However, the player's passion and greed imperiously lead him to death. He decides to play the third game, betting all his easy money earned by playing on the ace - 200,000 rubles. An ace comes up, but Hermann's triumph is interrupted by Chekalinsky's opponent's remark that his queen has lost. The engineer understands that the incomprehensible has happened: while pulling an ace from the deck, his fingers for some reason took out a completely different card - the queen of spades - a symbol of secret malevolence.

The desperate swindler is shocked, his mind cannot cope with the stress, and he goes crazy. It is in the sixth chapter, which contains the very fatal game, and Pushkin outlined the inevitable outcome of the plot. “The Queen of Spades” gives Hermann what he deserves: his house is now the seventeenth ward of the Obukhov mental hospital. From this moment on, the consciousness of the former engineer is forever locked in a combination of three cards. The fate of Elizabeth's pupil is developing happily: marriage, prosperity and

The story “The Queen of Spades” created a sensation. There was even a fashion among players to bet on the cards mentioned by Pushkin. Contemporaries noted the author's masterful psychological portrayal of the image of the old countess, as well as her pupil. However, the “Byronian” character of Hermann is depicted most clearly. The success of the work is not accidental: the classic, in whose veins truly hot blood flows, writes on the theme of luck and luck that is close to him. At the same time, we see his fatalistic beliefs, which say that fate still dominates all the vanity of life.

Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin

Queen of Spades

The Queen of Spades means secret malevolence.

Newest fortune telling book

And on rainy days

They were going

They bent - God forgive them! -

From fifty

And they won

And they unsubscribed

So, on rainy days,

They were studying

One day we were playing cards with horse guard Narumov. The long winter night passed unnoticed; We sat down to dinner at five o'clock in the morning. Those who were the winners ate with great appetite; the others, absentmindedly, sat in front of their empty instruments. But the champagne appeared, the conversation became livelier, and everyone took part in it.

-What did you do, Surin? - asked the owner.

- Lost, as usual. I must admit that I am unhappy: I play with myrandole, I never get excited, nothing can confuse me, but I keep losing!

“And you’ve never been tempted?” never put it on rue?.. Your firmness is amazing to me.

- What is Hermann like? - said one of the guests, pointing to the young engineer, - he hasn’t picked up cards in his life, he hasn’t forgotten a single password in his life, and until five o’clock he sits with us and watches our game!

“The game occupies me greatly,” said Hermann, “but I am not able to sacrifice what is necessary in the hope of acquiring what is superfluous.”

– Hermann is German: he is calculating, that’s all! - Tomsky noted. – And if anyone is unclear to me, it’s my grandmother, Countess Anna Fedotovna.

- How? What? - the guests shouted.

“I can’t understand,” continued Tomsky, “how my grandmother doesn’t show off!”

“What’s so surprising,” said Narumov, “that an eighty-year-old woman doesn’t show off?”

- So you don’t know anything about her?

- No! really, nothing!

- Oh, so listen:

You need to know that my grandmother, sixty years ago, went to Paris and was there in big fashion. People ran after her to see la Venus moscovite; Richelieu trailed after her, and the grandmother assures that he almost shot himself because of her cruelty.

At that time, ladies played pharaoh. Once at court, she lost something very much to the Duke of Orleans at his word. Arriving home, the grandmother, peeling off the flies from her face and untying her hoops, announced to her grandfather that she had lost and ordered him to pay.

My late grandfather, as far as I remember, was my grandmother's butler. He feared her like fire; however, upon hearing about such a terrible loss, he lost his temper, brought the bills, proved to her that in six months they had spent half a million, that they had neither a village near Moscow nor Saratov near Paris, and completely refused payment. The grandmother slapped him in the face and went to bed alone, as a sign of her disfavor.

The next day she ordered to call her husband, hoping that the home punishment had an effect on him, but she found him unshakable. For the first time in her life, she reached the point of reasoning and explanation with him; I thought to reassure him, condescendingly proving that debt is different and that there is a difference between a prince and a coachman. - Where! grandfather rebelled. No, yes and only! Grandma didn't know what to do.

She was briefly acquainted with a very remarkable man. You have heard about Count Saint-Germain, about whom they tell so many wonderful things. You know that he pretended to be the Eternal Jew, the inventor of the life elixir and the philosopher's stone, and so on. They laughed at him as a charlatan, and Casanova in his Notes says that he was a spy; however, Saint-Germain, despite his mystery, had a very respectable appearance and was a very amiable person in society. Grandmother still loves him deeply and gets angry if people talk about him with disrespect. Grandmother knew that Saint Germain could have a lot of money. She decided to resort to him. She wrote him a note and asked him to come to her immediately.

The old eccentric appeared immediately and found him in terrible grief. She described to him in the darkest colors her husband’s barbarity and finally said that she placed all her hope in his friendship and kindness.

Saint Germain thought about it.

“I can serve you with this amount,” he said, “but I know that you will not be calm until you pay me, and I would not want to introduce you into new troubles. There is another remedy: you can win back.” “But, dear Count,” answered the grandmother, “I tell you that we have no money at all.” “Money is not needed here,” Saint-Germain objected: “if you please listen to me.” Then he revealed to her a secret, for which any of us would give dearly...

Young players have doubled their attention. Tomsky lit his pipe, took a drag and continued.

That same evening the grandmother appeared at Versailles, au jeu de la Reine. Duke of Orleans metal; Grandma slightly apologized for not bringing her debt, weaved a little story to justify it and began to pontificate against him. She chose three cards, played them one after another: all three won her Sonic, and the grandmother won back completely.

- Chance! - said one of the guests.

- Fairy tale! – Hermann noted.

– Maybe powder cards? – picked up the third.

“I don’t think so,” Tomsky answered importantly.

- How! - said Narumov, - you have a grandmother who guesses three cards in a row, and you still haven’t learned her cabalistics from her?

- Yes, the hell with it! - Tomsky answered - she had four sons, including my father: all four were desperate gamblers, and she did not reveal her secret to any of them; although it would not be bad for them and even for me. But this is what my uncle, Count Ivan Ilyich, told me, and what he assured me of on honor. The late Chaplitsky, the same one who died in poverty, having squandered millions, once in his youth lost - Zorich remembers - about three hundred thousand. He was desperate. Grandmother, who was always strict with the pranks of young people, somehow took pity on Chaplitsky. She gave him three cards so that he would play them one after another, and took his word of honor never to play again. Chaplitsky appeared to his winner: they sat down to play. Chaplitsky bet fifty thousand on the first card and won Sonic; I forgot my passwords, my passwords, I won back and still won...

However, it's time to sleep: it's already a quarter to six.

In fact, it was already dawn: the young people finished their glasses and left.

– II paraît que monsieur est décidément pour les suivantes.

- Que voulez-vous, inadame? Elles sont plus fraîches.

Small talk

The old Countess *** was sitting in her dressing room in front of the mirror. Three girls surrounded her. One was holding a jar of rouge, another a box of hairpins, the third a tall cap with fiery-colored ribbons. The Countess did not have the slightest pretension to beauty, which had long since faded, but she retained all the habits of her youth, strictly followed the fashions of the seventies and dressed just as long, just as diligently, as she had done sixty years ago. At the window, a young lady, her pupil, was sitting at the hoop.

“Hello, grand’maman,” said the young officer as he entered. – Bon jour, mademoiselle Lise. Grand'maman, I come to you with a request.

– What is it, Paul?

- Let me introduce one of my friends and bring him to your place on Friday for the ball.

“Bring him to me straight to the ball, and then introduce him to me.” Were you at ***'s yesterday?

- Of course! it was a lot of fun; They danced until five o'clock. How good Yeletskaya was!

- And, my dear! What's good about it? Was this what her grandmother, Princess Daria Petrovna, was like?.. By the way: I guess she’s gotten very old, Princess Daria Petrovna?

- How, have you aged? - Tomsky answered absentmindedly, - she died about seven years ago.

The young lady raised her head and made a sign to the young man. He remembered that the death of her peers was hidden from the old countess, and he bit his lip. But the countess heard the news, new to her, with great indifference.

- She died! - she said, - but I didn’t even know! Together we were granted maid of honor, and when we introduced ourselves, the Empress...

And the countess told her grandson her joke for the hundredth time.

“Well, Paul,” she said later, “now help me get up.” Lizanka, where is my snuff box?

And the countess and her girls went behind the screens to finish their toilet. Tomsky stayed with the young lady.

– Who do you want to introduce? – Lizaveta Ivanovna asked quietly.

- Narumova. Do you know him?

- No! Is he a military man or a civilian?

- Military.

- Engineer?

- No! cavalryman Why did you think he was an engineer?

The young lady laughed and did not answer a word.

– Paul! - the countess shouted from behind the screens, - send me some new novel, but please, not one of the current ones.

- How is it, grand’maman?

– That is, a novel where the hero does not crush either his father or his mother and where there are no drowned bodies. I'm terribly afraid of drowning!

– There are no such novels nowadays. Don't you want Russians?

– Are there really Russian novels?.. They came, father, please, they came!

- Sorry, grand'maman: I'm in a hurry... Sorry, Lizaveta Ivanovna! Why did you think that Narumov was an engineer?

And Tomsky left the restroom.

Lizaveta Ivanovna was left alone: she left work and began to look out the window. Soon a young officer appeared on one side of the street from behind a coal house. A blush covered her cheeks: she began to work again and bent her head just above the canvas. At this time the Countess entered, fully dressed.

The Queen of Spades means secret malevolence.

The newest fortune telling book.

And on rainy days

They were going

They bent - God forgive them! -

From fifty

And they won

And they unsubscribed

So, on rainy days,

They were studying

One day we were playing cards with horse guard Narumov. The long winter night passed unnoticed; We sat down to dinner at five o'clock in the morning. Those who were the winners ate with great appetite; the others sat absent-mindedly in front of their instruments. But the champagne appeared, the conversation became livelier, and everyone took part in it.

-What did you do, Surin? - asked the owner.

- Lost, as usual. “I must admit that I’m unhappy: I play as a mirandole, I never get excited, nothing can confuse me, but I keep losing!”

- And you’ve never been tempted? never put it on the root?.. Your hardness is amazing to me.

“The game occupies me greatly,” said Hermann, “but I am not able to sacrifice what is necessary in the hope of acquiring what is superfluous.”

– Hermann is German: he is calculating, that’s all! - Tomsky noted. – And if anyone is unclear to me, it’s my grandmother, Countess Anna Fedotovna.

- How? What? - the guests shouted.

“I can’t understand,” continued Tomsky, “how my grandmother doesn’t show off!”

“What’s so surprising,” said Narumov, “that an eighty-year-old woman doesn’t show off?”

- So you don’t know anything about her?

- No! really, nothing!

- Oh, so listen:

You need to know that my grandmother, sixty years ago, went to Paris and was in great fashion there. People ran after her to see la Venus moscovite; Richelieu trailed after her, and the grandmother assures that he almost shot himself because of her cruelty.

My late grandfather, as far as I remember, was my grandmother's butler. He was afraid of her like fire; however, upon hearing about such a terrible loss, he lost his temper, brought the bills, proved to her that in six months they had spent half a million, that they had neither a village near Moscow nor Saratov near Paris, and completely refused payment. The grandmother slapped him in the face and went to bed alone, as a sign of her disfavor.

She was briefly acquainted with a very remarkable man. You have heard about Count Saint-Germain, about whom they tell so many wonderful things. You know that he pretended to be the Eternal Jew, the inventor of the life elixir and the philosopher's stone, and so on. They laughed at him as a charlatan, and Casanova in his Notes says that he was a spy; however, Saint-Germain, despite his mystery, had a very respectable appearance and was a very amiable person in society. Grandmother still loves him deeply and gets angry if they talk about him with disrespect. Grandmother knew that Saint Germain could have a lot of money. She decided to resort to him. She wrote him a note and asked him to come to her immediately.

Saint Germain thought about it.

Young players have doubled their attention. Tomsky lit his pipe, took a drag and continued.

- Chance! - said one of the guests.

- Fairy tale! – Hermann noted.

– Maybe powder cards? – picked up the third.

“I don’t think so,” Tomsky answered importantly.

- How! - said Narumov, - you have a grandmother who guesses three cards in a row, and you still haven’t learned her cabalistics from her?

- Yes, the hell with it! - answered Tomsky, - she had four sons, including my father: all four were desperate gamblers, and she did not reveal her secret to any of them; although it would not be bad for them and even for me. But this is what my uncle, Count Ivan Ilyich, told me, and what he assured me of on his honor. The late Chaplitsky, the same one who died in poverty, having squandered millions, once in his youth lost - Zorich remembers - about three hundred thousand. He was desperate. Grandmother, who was always strict with the pranks of young people, somehow took pity on Chaplitsky. She gave him three cards so that he would play them one after another, and took his word of honor never to play again. Chaplitsky appeared to his winner: they sat down to play. Chaplitsky bet fifty thousand on the first card and won Sonic; I forgot the passwords, passwords, no, - I won back and still won...

“But it’s time to go to bed: it’s already a quarter to six.”

In fact, it was already dawn: the young people finished their glasses and left.

The plot of “The Queen of Spades” was based on a curious incident known to Pushkin. Young Prince Golitsyn I told him how I once lost badly at cards. I had to go to bow to my grandmother - the princess Natalia Petrovna Golitsyna , an arrogant and domineering person, distinguished by her intelligence and tough disposition, and ask her for money. She didn't give me any money. But she kindly conveyed the supposedly magical the secret of three winning cards, which was told to her by the once famous Count Saint-Germain. The grandson bet on these cards and won back.

"The Queen of Spades" is one of the best novella samples in all world literature.

The Queen of Spades" is a philosophical story in its subject matter.

In "The Queen of Spades" Pushkin addressed a wide circle philosophical problems :

man, freedom, freedom of moral choice, fate, random and natural, game, “villainy”- just some of the philosophical questions comprehended by the author in this story, which is deep in content.

The hero enters into a duel with fate, believing that sober calculation will allow him to achieve his desired goal.

The Queen of Spades becomes more than just a card in the game Hermann with fate, but the revenge of fate, i.e. the hero himself turns out to be a card in a larger game, and his “card is beaten.”

The plot of the work is based on a game of chance, necessity and regularity. In this regard, each character is associated with a specific theme.

With a theme social dissatisfaction - Hermann;

with the theme fate – Countess Anna Fedotovna;

with the theme social humility – Lizaveta Ivanovna;

with the theme undeserved happiness - Tomsky.

Some heroes, such as Tomsky, are chosen by fate, others, like Hermann, strive to catch luck. Luck is destiny Tomsk , and failure is fate Hermann.

“The Queen of Spades” is the pinnacle of Pushkin’s reflections on the role of fate in human life .

Pushkin's secular story reveals the tragic fate of a young man named Hermann . He has extraordinary mental abilities, is well educated and has an attractive appearance. And his prudence was passed down from his ancestors, who were from German lands. But Herman has dream is to become rich , and get everything without much effort.

The plot of the story plays on Pushkin’s favorite theme of unpredictable fate, fortune, and fate. A young military engineer, German Hermann, leads a modest life and accumulates a fortune; he does not even pick up cards and limits himself only to watching the game. His friend Tomsky tells a story about how his grandmother, the countess, while in Paris, lost a large sum at cards. She tried to borrow money from the Count of Saint-Germain, but instead of money, he told her the secret of three winning cards. The Countess, thanks to the secret, completely won back.

Hermann, having seduced her pupil, Lisa, enters the countess’s bedroom, trying to find out the cherished secret with pleas and threats. Seeing Hermann armed with a pistol (which, as it turned out later, turned out to be unloaded), the Countess dies of a heart attack. At the funeral, Hermann imagines that the late countess opens her eyes and glances at him. In the evening, her ghost appears to Hermann and says that three cards (“three, seven, ace”) will bring him a win, but he should not bet more than one card per day. Three cards become an obsession for Hermann:

...Seeing a young girl, he said: “How slim she is!.. A real three of hearts.” They asked him what time it was, he answered: “It’s five minutes to seven.” - Every pot-bellied man reminded him of an ace. Three, seven, ace - haunted him in a dream, taking on all possible forms: the three bloomed in front of him in the form of a lush grandiflora, the seven seemed like a Gothic gate, the ace like a huge spider. All his thoughts merged into one - to take advantage of the secret that cost him dearly...

The famous millionaire gambler Chekalinsky comes to St. Petersburg. Hermann bets all his capital on three, wins and doubles it. The next day he bets all his money on seven, wins and doubles his capital again. On the third day, Hermann bets money (already about two hundred thousand) on the ace. An ace comes up. Hermann thinks he has won, but Chekalinsky says that Hermann's lady lost. In some incredible way, Hermann turned around and bet money instead of an ace on a queen. Hermann sees on the map a smiling and winking Queen of Spades, who reminds him of the Countess. The ruined Hermann ends up in a mental hospital, where he does not react to anything and constantly “mutters unusually quickly: “Three, seven, ace!” Three, seven, queen!..”

The main character finds himself in an unpleasant situation, but his personal guilt is the root cause of all events. Pushkin tells the story of an unfortunate man who was captivated by gambling vices. Is it possible to judge such a character? After all, such addictions are found at every step and in modern world. Most likely, it is necessary to draw certain conclusions and stay away from such dubious means of acquiring wealth.

(Hermann’s behavior is completely opposite to his state of mind. He has bound his feelings and emotions within the strict framework of the correct behavior, in his opinion. Hermann’s outer shell will not be able to hold back for long those raging internal forces that he is trying to pacify. Without giving vent to his emotions, Hermann brings tragedy closer inconsistencies that will inevitably erupt.)

The main character of "The Queen of Spades" - the character of the story - is a thrifty, prudent person, but does not have any moral or spiritual values.

the countess played a key role in the story. She appeared to Herman as the queen of spades because he did not fulfill the countess’s condition - he did not marry Elizaveta Petrovna.

So the old woman’s secret still did not help Herman, because it was revealed against her will.

The main character of the story is Hermann. It differs from other heroes in 2 features:

1. Serves as a military engineer, which means the hero’s low social status;

2. The son of a Russified German, i.e. a man of a rationalistic mindset, a man of calculation and firm self-restraint.

And indeed, At the beginning, the hero's life is subordinated to reason. Being a poor and humble man, he dreams of “strengthening his independence,” but he rejects all risky paths, adventures, does not drink, does not gamble, relies on prudence and frugality. But calculation is only the outer shell of Hermann’s personality, his essence. character was completely different: “he had strong passions and a fiery imagination.” The contradiction between Hermann's passionate nature and his rationalistic mindset.

And although at first Hermann perceived the story of 3 cards as a fairy tale, it had a strong effect on his imagination, and the whole night this story did not leave his head. Pushkin shows an internal dialogue that reveals the fight 2 began in Hermann's soul:

1 start makes Hermann believe in the secret of 3 cards, i.e. believe in the existence of the irrational in life. It pushes you to take risks, forces you to reveal the secret of 3 cards. He even makes plans in his head, wondering whether he should become the lover of the 87-year-old countess. Those. he is already ready for anything. The complete immorality of the hero is already shown here. 2 start returns to common sense and says that the main thing in life is peace and independence. The plot shows that the struggle between the two principles does not last long and ends victory of passions over consciousness, rationalism.

Hermann commits 3 crime:1. Violation of the poor girl's feelings; 2. The murder of the old countess;3. Hermann is ready to pledge his soul to the devil and thereby commit the 3rd crime,

Tomsky says about Hermann: “he has the profile of Napoleon, and the soul of Mephistopheles.” These words are literally confirmed by the author of the story: when Hermann tells Lisa that he does not love her and that he used her to get to the countess, that he is to blame for the death of the countess, the author writes: “She wiped her tear-stained eyes and raised them to Hermann: he sat on the window, arms folded and frowning menacingly. In this position, he surprisingly resembled a portrait of Napoleon. This similarity struck even Lizaveta Ivanovna.” This is how the story goes Napoleonic theme(the most important theme of Russian and European literature of the 19th century). This Napoleonic motif in the image in Hermann can be understood in two ways:

1. Some literary scholars emphasize Hermann’s individualism and immorality. Indeed, the basis of Hermann’s soul is selfishness. In order to achieve his goals, Hermann is able to overcome everything (the death of the countess, the feelings of a girl). It is no coincidence that he is compared to Napoleon; Napoleon was ready to shed rivers of blood and shed them for the sake of his self-affirmation. 2. But one cannot consider the Napoleonic motif only in the socio-psychological aspect (i.e., focus on the individualism and immorality of the hero); such an approach ignores the fact that “The Queen of Spades” is not only a socio-psychological, but also a philosophical story. That’s why Pushkin is interested in Napoleon as a man who claimed power over fate, as a person who was confident that everything was subject to human will. It should be noted that for Pushkin, Napoleon was the personification of greatness and at the same time the powerlessness of man before fate, before fate.

And then, introducing the Napoleonic theme into the story, Pushkin not only characterizes Hermann, but also characterizes his future destiny, like Napoleon, he also has ups and downs. This fate is realized in 5-6 chapters in the story. In them Hermann repeats in miniature the path of Napoleon. The mystery of 3 cards (three, seven, ace) becomes reality. Three, seven and ace do win, as was pointed out to Hermann by the ghost of the Countess. The appearance of the countess’s ghost is, in a way, a message from otherworldly forces, fate, and fate. This feeling is strengthened by the words of the countess herself: “I came to you against my will. But I was ordered to fulfill your request.” That's why Hermann disaster(he wins 2 evenings by calling these three cards, and on the 3rd evening instead of an ace he wins the queen of spades) does not seem like pure chance, it looks like inevitability. The idea of the triumph of fate, fate over human will is important in the story.

It was not by chance that Pushkin took card game as the basis for the plot of the story, because the game is a poetic metaphor for life with its ups and downs, with its losses and gains, with its successes and failures. Therefore, “The Queen of Spades” is a multifaceted work: social, psychological, and philosophical motives are combined here. All his life, Pushkin believed in fate, in the role of chance in human life. Personal and historical experience convinced Pushkin that it was naive and unjustified to hope for the triumph of reason and rationalism.